Platycryptus californicus
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adult female, live; face view |
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adult female, live; dorsal view |
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adult male, live; dorsal view |
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adult male, dead |
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female genitalia; epigynum |
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male genitalia; palp, lateral view |
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male genitalia; palp, ventral view |
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grape size comparison with adult spiders; male (left), female (right) |
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spiderling, live |
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spiderlings, dead; dorsal (left), ventral (right) |
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egg sac |
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egg sac with scale (cm) |
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diagnostic feature; wavy, leaf-like pattern on abdomen |
Current valid name
Platycryptus californicus (G. & E. Peckham) (family Salticidae)
Recognition and diagnostic features
Diurnal jumping spider, leaf-like pattern on dorsal surface of abdomen.
Spider
Body lengths when mature: male: 6.2 - 7.1 mm, female: 9.4 - 10.6 mm
Immatures resemble miniature adults.
Egg sac
Description: retreat-like egg sac, female stays inside and guards eggs, 11.2 ± 2.1 mm wide, 21.6 ± 6.2 mm long
Number of eggs per sac: 12.7 ± 2.1
Size of egg: 1.13 ± 0.038 mm
Distribution
In California: throughout most of the state
Elsewhere: western United States, British Columbia, Central America
Native to North America
This species has not been transported or become established outside of its range.
Biology
Found on grape vine bark.
Status in table grapes
Level of Incidence: uncommon
Level of Concern in New Zealand: WPNZ (May 2010) nr, BORIC (Dec 2011) nr (not listed), MAF-BPRA (2002) nr (coding definition)
Level of Concern in Australia: WPAU (2006) nr (coding definition)
Level of Medical importance: none, but probably large enough to inflict bite
Common name
None for species, jumping spiders for family
Taxonomic history
Transferred from Metacyrba by Hill (1979).
Commonly encountered synonyms
Possibly Metacyrba californica in older literature.
Selected references
Barnes, R. D. 1958. North American jumping spiders of the subfamily Marpissinae (Araneae, Salticidae). Amer. Mus. Novit. #1867, 50 pp.
Hill, D. E. 1979. The scales of salticid spiders. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 61: 193-218.
